This publication presents a summary of statistics on grape and wine production and related activities collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and from other sources.

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

There are no changes in this issue.

SOURCE MATERIAL

With the exception of the tables and graphs relating to world comparisons, all sources cited refer to ABS publications and/or ABS data available on request.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The continuing collection of varietal data is supported by Australia’s grape-growers and winemakers and the Australian government through the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation.

ROUNDING

Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and totals.

INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Damian Sparkes on Adelaide (08) 8237 7425.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

INTRODUCTION

The record year of 2003-04 for the Australian wine and grape industry was surpassed in 2004-05 with increases in harvest, crush and wine production levels. There were 1,925,490 tonnes of grapes crushed in 2004-05, an increase of 8,252 tonnes on the record crop of the previous year. Beverage wine production was a record 1,422.8 million litres, an increase of 1.3% on 2003-04. There was continued growth in the export of Australian produced wine, which reached 669.7 million litres during 2004-05, an increase of 14.6%. The value of these exports increased 8.9%, to $2.7b. Domestic sales of Australian wine also continued to grow, up 3.1%, to 430.1 million litres.

WINE AND GRAPE INDUSTRY - 2004-05

Value

% change from 2003-04

Area of bearing vines (ha)

153 204

1.8

Total grape production (t)

2 026 500

0.6

Fresh grapes crushed (t)

1 925 490

0.4

Beverage wine production (million L)

1 442.8

1.3

Beverage wine inventories (million L)

2 063.2

11.3

Domestic sales of Australian wine (million L)

430.1

3.1

Domestic sales value of Australian wine ($m)

2 097.4

6.4

Exports of Australian wine (million L)

669.7

14.6

Exports of Australian wine ($m)

2 715.3

8.9

Imports of wine (million L)

22.1

18.2

Imports of wine ($m)

188.2

23.5

Sales of Australian Wine and Brandy by Winemakers (cat. no. 8504.0); ABS data available on request, Wine Statistics Survey, 2004-05; Wine and Spirit Production Survey, 2004-05; Inventories of Australian Wine and Brandy 2004-05; Vineyards Survey, 2005.

AREA OF VINES

Estimates from the Vineyards 2005 collection show that season 2005 produced another record harvest. The industry appears to have fully recovered from the drought conditions experienced in 2003. Hectares of vines being cultivated increased again, from the record area last year of 164,181 hectares, to 166,665 hectares in 2005. The total area of vines bearing grapes increased from 150,561 hectares to 153,204 hectares, a rise of 1.8%. The area of non-bearing grapes decreased slightly in 2005, down 1.2% to 13,462 hectares.

The net increase in area planted under vines for 2004-05 (derived from vines planted and vines lost during the year) was 1,823 hectares, which was 10.0% less than the net increase recorded in 2003-04 (2,025 hectares).

Vine Planting, Net change by state

VINEYARD IRRIGATION

There were 7,020 vineyards that irrigated in 2005. This was 84.1% of the total number of vineyards in Australia (8,347). The area of grapevines irrigated was 149,960 hectares, with South Australia (64,816 hectares) accounting for 43.2%. New South Wales (36,005 hectares) and Victoria (35,215 hectares) collectively had 47.5% of the area of grapevines irrigated nationally. The average usage of water was 3.76 megalitres per hectare. Victoria averaged 5.10 megalitres per hectare, New South Wales 4.43 megalitres per hectare and South Australia 3.05 megalitres per hectare.

The most common watering method continues to be drip or micro spray with 113,858 hectares, or 75.9% of the total area irrigated. There were 53,859 hectares of vineyard land watered by this method in South Australia.

Spray excluding micro spray was the second most utilised method with 15.8% of irrigated vineyards (23,674 hectares). In Victoria, 29.5% (10,395 hectares) of all area irrigated was watered by spray excluding micro spray. The third most common method of watering was furrow or flood (11,586 hectares) with New South Wales accounting for 6,918 hectares, or 19.2% of their total area irrigated.

Surface water from either state owned or private irrigation schemes was the most common source of water used by vineyards in Australia. There were 83,757 hectares drawing from this source. South Australia (29,035 hectares), New South Wales (26,123) and Victoria (25,156) collectively have 95.9% of the vineyard land sourcing water from state owned or private irrigation schemes. Nationally, the next most important water source for vineyards was underground water supply (31,694 hectares), followed by other surface water (26,945 hectares).

GRAPE PRODUCTION

The weight of grapes harvested in 2005 was 2,026,500 tonnes which was a 0.6% increase on 2004. Red grape production was down 4.5% to 1,046,897 tonnes, but still represented 51.7% of the total grapes harvested. The production of white grapes was 979,603 tonnes, a 6.7% increase on the tonnage harvested in 2004.

There were 1,818,426 tonnes of grapes harvested for winemaking, a small increase on the 1,816,556 tonnes harvested in 2004. The production of grapes for drying increased by 4.6%, to 135,412 tonnes, and the amount of table and other grapes harvested increased by 5.4%, to 72,662 tonnes.

Grape Production and Intended Usage

WINEMAKING LOCATIONS AND GRAPES CRUSHED

For the 2005 vintage there were 413 locations around Australia which crushed 50 tonnes or more of grapes owned by 366 winemaking businesses, compared with the 2004 vintage which had 410 locations owned by 364 winemaking businesses.

Almost 30% of all locations were in South Australia and they accounted for 47.3% of the national wine grape crush, a small drop from the 48.1% recorded in 2003-04. New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory (NSW/ACT) had 22.8% of the total number of locations with 33.5% of the total wine crush, followed by Victoria (23.5% of all locations and 14.8% of all grapes crushed) and Western Australia (18.9% of locations and 4.0% of the grape crush).

The 366 winemaking businesses, in terms of crush capacity, are diverse in size. There were 187 businesses that each crushed from 50 to 400 tonnes of grapes, producing a combined crush of 31,881 tonnes. Of these smaller businesses, the 99 smallest winemakers accounted for only 0.5% of all grapes crushed and averaged 90 tonnes each.

The 179 businesses that each crushed more than 400 tonnes of grapes crushed a total of 1,893,609 tonnes (98.3% of the national total) of grapes. The 14 largest winemakers accounted for a total of 1,408,340 tonnes of grapes, which was 73.1% of the total crush. These 14 businesses averaged 100,596 tonnes each.

All winemakers who crushed 50 tonnes or more of grapes reported a total of 1,925,490 tonnes of grapes crushed in 2004-05, an increase of 8,252 tonnes on the record crop of the previous year.

BEVERAGE WINE PRODUCTION

There were 1,420.3 million litres of beverage wine produced by winemakers that crushed more than 400 tonnes of grapes, or had sales of more than 250,000 litres. This beverage wine production figure was 19.3 million litres (1.4%) more than the total for 2003-04.

Production of unfortified wine accounted for 98.6% of the total beverage wine produced by these winemakers. Red/rosť wine made up 760.7 million litres (53.6%) of the beverage wine produced in 2004-05. This was a decrease of 48.2 million litres (6.0%) on the Red/rosť wine produced in 2003-04. White wine accounted for 639.4 million litres, a rise of 67.3 million litres (11.8%) on the previous year.

Fortified wine production remained stable with 20.3 million litres produced in 2004-05 compared with the 20.0 milllion litres made in 2003-04.

BEVERAGE WINE PRODUCTION

WINE INVENTORIES

Inventories of Australian beverage wine held by winemakers continued to grow, reaching a record high of 2,063.2 million litres at 30 June 2005, up 11.3% from the previous year.

Table wine inventories rose 11.6% to 1,894.7 million litres at 30 June 2005. Unlike previous years, stocks of white table wine showed the largest positive movement with an increase of 19.7% (115.9 million litres) giving a total of 705.5 million litres of white wine held as stock by winemakers. In terms of total beverage wine stored by winemakers, white table wine made up 34.2% of the stock this year compared to 31.8% last year.

Red/rosť table wine rose by 7.3% (81.0 million litres) to 1,189.1 million litres, still more than half (57.6%) of the beverage stock held by winemakers.

INVENTORIES OF AUSTRALIAN TABLE WINE - At 30 June

BRANDY

The domestic sales of Australian brandy fell to 576,000 litres of alcohol in 2004-05. This was the fourth consecutive year to show a downward movement since the peak in 2000-01 of 901,000 litres.

Exports of Australian brandy rose to 18,000 litres of alcohol, reversing the slump from the previous year (11,000 litres of alcohol). The volume of imported brandy cleared for home consumption decreased by 3.9% to 519,000 litres of alcohol, the lowest figure since 2000-01 (504,000 litres of alcohol).

DOMESTIC SALES, IMPORTS AND CONSUMPTION OF BRANDY

DOMESTIC WINE SALES

Domestic sales of Australian wine in 2004-05 were 430.1 million litres, an increase of 12.8 million litres or 3.1% on the previous year. In terms of volume, the components that recorded the largest increases were Red/rosť table wine (8.4 million litres), Bulk fermented sparkling wine (2.3 million litres) and Bottled fermented sparkling wine with a rise of 1.4 million litres. Fortified wines fell by 1.3 million litres.

The quantity of table wine sold in glass containers of less than two litres continued to increase. In 2004-05, 180.6 million litres of table wine were sold in glass containers less than two litres, comprising 91.1 million litres of red/rosť wine (up 10.0%) and 89.5 million litres of white wine (up 6.3%). The amount of table wine sold in soft packs fell to 181.8 million litres, 1.9 million litres less than the previous year. Other containers accounted for 2.4 million litres, down from 4.3 million litres in 2003-04.

DOMESTIC SALES OF AUSTRALIAN RED AND WHITE TABLE WINE

WINE EXPORTS

The strong growth in Australian wine exports, evident since the mid-1980s, continued in 2004-05 as Australia exported a record 669.7 million litres of wine, a rise of 14.6%. The value of these exports rose by $221.2m (8.9%) to $2,715.3m. However, the average price per litre fell 5.0% from $4.27 in 2003-04 to $4.05 in 2004-05. Since 1986-87 the trade balance for wine in both quantity and value terms has consistently been in surplus (exports greater than imports) and has been increasing over time. For the 2004-05 period Australia imported 22.1 million litres of wine, compared to the 669.7 million litres exported.

EXPORTS OF AUSTRALIAN WINE AND IMPORTS OF WINE - 1992-93 to 2004-05

DESTINATION OF AUSTRALIAN WINE EXPORTS

The European Union continued to be the major regional destination for Australian wine exports in 2004-05. It accounted for 368.3 million litres (55.0% of total exports by volume), valued at $1,289.3m (47.5% of total exports by value). Exports to Northern America accounted for 233.2 million litres (34.8%) and were valued at $1,107.0m (40.8%). The United Kingdom was the major country of destination for Australian wine, taking 263.6 million litres (valued at $960.8m) followed by the United States of America which imported 188.7 million litres ($866.7m) and Canada with 44.4 million litres of wine valued at $239.0m.

DESTINATION OF AUSTRALIAN WINE EXPORTS (a) - 2004-05

GRAPE AND WINE PRICES

The wine grape price index showed a significant fall in 2004-05, down 14.5%. The index of prices received by winemakers increased by 0.4% in 2004-05, with the price received for wine for domestic consumption decreasing by 0.1%, while the price received for wine for export increased by 1.7%. The consumer price index for wine increased by 2.1% in 2004-05, compared with an increase of 2.4% in the all groups consumer price index.

PRICE INDEX OF GRAPES USED IN WINE PRODUCTION, Change on previous vintage

WINE CONSUMPTION

Apparent per capita consumption of wine has continued to increase, rising to 27.5 litres in 2003-04 from 26.8 litres in 2002-03. Prior to 2002-03, the levels of per capita consumption had been relatively unchanged at 26.0 litres in 1999-2000, increasing slightly to 26.2 litres in 2000-01 and then returning to 26.0 litres in 2001-02. This latest increase is more in line with the movements of the past decade and to the longer term trend which has seen per capita consumption of wine climb steadily over the last 50 years.

PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION OF WINE

HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE

The most current details of household expenditure show that during 2003-04 Australian households spent an average of $6.33 per week on wine. Households in the Australian Capital Territory spent the most with $8.04 and those in Queensland the least with $4.65. Australian Capital Territory households spent the highest proportion of their total weekly alcohol expenditure on wine (33.0%), while Northern Territory (NT) households spent the lowest (19.2%). Households in New South Wales (29.0%), Victoria (28.7%) and South Australia (27.8%) spent more than one quarter of their total weekly alcohol expenditure on wine. From 1998-99 to 2003-04 there was a 19.9% increase in weekly expenditure on wine nationally.

AVERAGE WEEKLY HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE, Alcoholic beverages

WORLD COMPARISONS

Of the countries for which 2002 data are available, Australia’s ranking for area of vines planted (0.159 million hectares) was twelfth, the same position as the previous year. Spain (1.202 million hectares), France (0.909 million hectares) and Italy (0.872 million hectares) had the greatest areas under vine. Australia was ranked tenth in terms of total grape production (1.754 million tonnes). Italy (7.394 million tonnes) and France (6.854 million tonnes) occupied the top two rankings in terms of total grape production. France (5,000.0 million litres) and Italy (4,460.4 million litres) were the largest producers of wine. Australia (1,150.9 million litres) was ranked sixth for wine production.

PRODUCTION OF WINE, Principal countries

The countries exporting the largest volumes of wine in 2002 were, in order, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, Chile, the United States of America and Germany, accounting for 79.8% of total world wine exports. Australia, with 471.5 million litres of wine exported, was ranked the fourth largest exporter of wine. Australia exported 41.0% of its wine production, which was the highest proportion, when compared to the other leading wine producing countries. The second highest proportion was achieved by Italy with 34.0% of production followed by France and Portugal, both with 31.1%. Australia’s per capita consumption of wine in 2002 decreased slightly to 20.5 litres (20.6 litres in 2001), well below the leading countries of France (56.1 litres), Italy (48.2 litres) and Portugal (46.3 litres).

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